


something comforting

by lemonpeony



Category: Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Mild Angst, Not beta'd we die like men, Unrequited Love, fellas is it gay to hold hands with your best friend, i promise its not sad, riku thinks a lot someone help him
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-10
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-16 03:27:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,222
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29943789
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lemonpeony/pseuds/lemonpeony
Summary: “But y’know,” Sora continued, his voice was quiet, a hidden emotion behind his words that Riku couldn’t quite figure out. “I’m happy with the life I have now. I wouldn’t change a thing.”In which Sora takes Riku to a secret place, and Riku is seconds away from spilling his heart.
Relationships: Riku/Sora (Kingdom Hearts)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 26





	something comforting

**Author's Note:**

> lays in my coffin, i will never write again goodnight world

“You know we’re going to get caught, right?”

Riku shut the window to his bedroom behind him as he whispered to Sora, who was waiting impatiently for him on the ground. The two had agreed that before they begin the task of looking for Master Aqua and defeating Xehanort once and for all that they should visit the islands again. A safety precaution Sora had put it, in case they spent more time away from home than they did on their last journey. While Riku understood the sentiment in seeing their island again, he also didn’t have the heart to tell Sora that home for him wasn’t the world they came from, but wherever the two of them were so long as they were together. 

“Riku, last time I checked you were a _keyblade master_. Are you seriously worried about being caught sneaking out? We’re not even gonna be gone that long,” Sora whined. 

“We should at least tell someone we’re-”

“Kairi knows,” he interrupted.

“Kairi isn’t even _here_.” Riku rebutted. 

“Yeah and you’re already out the window so let’s go already!”

Not wanting to continue arguing and risking Sora raising his voice enough to be heard by the sleeping town, Riku gave up on trying to change his mind and made his descent. He leapt off the edge of the window sill, his swift movement followed by an almost soundless landing as his feet hit the ground, and faced the brunette as he straightened himself. The two were standing close to each other, close enough for Riku to notice his faint freckles even in the moonless evening sky, a faint blush blooming across his own cheeks. Should he say something? Maybe laugh off the awkward silence? He could probably get away with mentioning how chilly the summer air felt tonight or-

“We,” Sora started as he scratched at his cheek, almost in an attempt to rub away at his own blush forming, “we should probably get going.”

“R-Right,” Riku choked out. His voice cracked at a higher pitch than he would’ve liked. _Nice one, doofas_ he told himself. Despite being together for as long as he could remember, Riku still found himself smitten by being around his younger friend, and the addition of having hidden feelings for him didn’t help either. 

He shoved his hands into his pockets at an attempt to relieve the tension, his eyes pointed towards their feet. “I’m following you.”

“Oh, one more thing”

“Uhuh?”

“You have to close your eyes the whole way.”

Riku’s head shot up as his eyes came into contact with Sora’s— which were wide and almost starry— as his eyebrows furrowed, “I have to _what_?”

——

Two thoughts were at war with each other within Riku the entire walk, especially since he had nothing to do with his eyes closed and being guided by the brunette holding his hand. The first being he should have known Sora would pull something like this; from the moment he begged Riku to climb outside his window instead of barging his way inside, to how adamant he was on _not_ telling him why he should follow him. Had he been more aware, he could have weaseled the answer out of Sora somehow if he asked enough. 

The second thought, which was overcoming the first one by a long shot, was that Sora was _holding his hand_. In the past this was nothing new, and more often than not it was Riku reaching out for him and only for brief amounts of time. Not like now, where they had been holding each other for almost an hour. Sora even made sure that their fingers intertwined.

The walk was mostly in silence, and each time a handful of minutes would pass Sora would ask Riku if he was doing okay, followed by a reassuring squeeze. _Was_ Riku doing okay? Physically, yes. Emotionally? He felt like facing Ansem back in the dream worlds was easier than this. Convincing himself that they were only holding hands because Sora needed to guide him did nothing to suppress the budding warmth in his heart at the possibility this was more than that.

Riku couldn’t find the proper words for it, but there was something about holding Sora’s hand that made his mind clear yet his heart stutter; it was soft and smooth compared to his own calloused ones. It made Riku think back to when they were kids and how they used to hold hands after playing together. Sora’s hands would be dusted with sand, yet they’d still hold the same softness, just as they did now. The thought made Riku chuckle under his breath.

“Okay! We’re here!”

When Riku felt Sora finally pull his hand away from him, a rush of dread rushed over him along with an icy chill. He hadn’t realized that most of the warmth he was feeling came directly from Sora. His palm itched with the urge to go searching for it in the darkness–

“You can… open your eyes now Riku.”

Oh. Right.

Riku’s eyes fluttered open as he prepared for a blinding light, something he’d grown used to as a habit from having his eyes covered for over a year, and was surprised when he was met with the same night air he stepped into an hour ago. When his view fully came into focus, his mouth gaped in awe. There he was, still on their island, but standing atop a hill where he could see their quiet town miles below them, scattered light posts being the only signs of life. Beyond that view was the vast ocean that surfaced their world. The play island looked tiny now compared to the view he had of it from his bedroom window. 

For a moment, Riku believed he was in another world.

A quiet “Whoa…,” escaped him as he gazed at the view. The wind whispered through the air, dragging itself along the back of Riku’s neck and sending chills all over him.

“You’re actually looking the wrong way,” Sora spoke from behind him. Riku almost forgot he wasn’t alone.

“I am?” He questioned. “Then what are you trying to show me?”

“This.”

Riku watched as Sora fell to the ground, his limbs stretched out as he laid back against the cool grass. He assumed Sora wasn’t going to elaborate more on what _this_ was until he joined him, so Riku followed suit and rested beside him, his arm lightly brushing against Sora’s. When he looked up, his eyes widened at the sight. 

A sky scattered with millions of stars swimming in a sea of hues stretched out before him. They were faint, but Riku could make out the swirling shades of blues and purples among the lights. While the sky was moonless, he could feel the stars blazing down on him. From their town this same view was usually a bit more muted, not as vibrant or breath taking, so being able to view the sky in full brightness caused Riku to feel almost emotional.

“What do you think?”

Riku flinched at the sudden voice. The sudden sound of Sora’s voice brought him out of his thoughts and turned his head to look at him as to respond, and when he did, he could feel time stop in an instant. The wind had died down, the air quiet and still except for Riku’s thunderous heartbeat. He may have been distracted by the illuminating sky, but when he looked at Sora, his mind went blank at the heart melting sight of his smile. 

It was different from the toothy grins he’d sport when something went right. This one was much more sincere. It felt like looking at the sunset peaking through a wall of clouds; despite an obstruction, it was still brilliant and breathtaking. Or, in Riku’s case, soul crushing and life stopping. He could only imagine what kind of dumbfounded expression he had this time. 

“U-Uh,” Riku grasped for words, unable to control the blood rushing to his face. “It’s uh… it’s really something.”

“Yeah?” Sora raised an eyebrow, a hint of teasing in his voice.

“I mean, how did you… when did you....”

“Well,” Sora rolled back over to his back, the ocean of stars reflecting in his eyes. Riku held his breath, memorizing the sight as he spoke. 

“After we came back, it felt weird being back home. I mean, I know we were just here not too long ago and this was my idea, but it felt weird not moving around, discovering new stuff. So I started walking, mostly when Mom was asleep so she wouldn’t worry where I’d gone, and I visited places we used to go to. The shop where Mom would get my clothes from, the fountain hidden in that plaza where Tidus and Wakka got into a fight with a bunch of other kids. I even paid a visit to that old pet store! Y’know the one owned by that really old couple? Their son runs it now! And they’ve got so many new pups, Riku.”

He could see it now, Sora with his hands on the window of one of the oldest shops in town, his eyes focusing on whatever moved in sight. He probably whined at the inability to adopt every single dog they had available. Riku wished he had been there with him, his lips slightly frowning at the missed opportunity.

“Before I knew it, everything was closed and the sun had already gone down but, I didn’t really feel like heading home yet.”

“So you kept walking?” Riku jumped in.

“I kept walking,” Sora turned to him and smiled, then looked back to the sky. “I didn’t really have a plan to go anywhere, so I just walked around till I met dead ends. Eventually I ended up outside of the town and into the more grassy areas. The parts of town we were told to keep out of when we were younger, y’know? There’s a path that actually leads up closer to the mountains. So I followed one of those paths, and there’s a split off along the way. I just randomly chose one and ended up here. I had no idea what time it was, how long I’d been out, but there was something about this place that felt really good about being here.

“Before I knew it, my knees gave out! I didn’t really realize how long I’d been walking. And the mini hike wasn’t really expected. I took a break, looked around to see how far I’d gone, and that’s when I finally noticed the sky.”

Sora reached one of his hands out as if to pull down a star, “I never knew just how clear the sky was here. I don’t know what it is but seeing it like this? I almost forgot that I’d spent over a year away from home. I thought I was the same island kid I grew up as so long ago. It was nice being able to pretend nothing changed.”

“Sora…”

Riku watched as the brunette’s hand slowly dropped back to his side. His heart pained with the thought that Sora could have _had_ that life, nothing involving magic or other worlds or light and darkness, if only he hadn’t been jealous. If he could go back in time and stop himself from trying to open that door and give Sora the life he deserved, he would do it in a heartbeat. 

“But y’know,” Sora continued, his voice was quiet, a hidden emotion behind his words that Riku couldn’t quite figure out. “I’m happy with the life I have now. I wouldn’t change a thing.”

Riku wanted to believe those words, and maybe he would think nothing of it in a few hours, but he couldn’t help his mind run with the thought of altering Sora’s life, all because he wanted more than he could have. His eyes stung with the urge to cry, but he quickly blinked away the feeling. 

His hand reached for Sora’s impulsively, squeezing tightly as he rubbed his thumb against the back of it. It wouldn’t be enough, but it would have to for the time being. Riku couldn’t find the words to properly apologize, and he may not have been able to hold back the tears he was choking back if he tried to speak, but this gesture would have to be enough for now. And maybe it can hold a promise to do better for Sora.

“Ah, that was a bit much, huh,” Sora laughed. Before Riku could disagree, he felt Sora squeeze his hand back. “Y’know, the sky is really beautiful though.”

Maybe it was how each journey made Sora more mature, or maybe it was how the stars reflected in his bright blue eyes, but Riku felt there was no moment that could compare to how beautiful Sora looked in this moment. Maybe in another life, he would’ve said those words, along with a few others that were drenched in the adoration he felt for him, but for now, those words would stay under lock and key in his heart. Their hands may have been clasped together for reasons different than what Riku wanted, but it would have to do. 

Riku looked down at their hands, then back to Sora’s expression and smiled.

“Yeah. Truly beautiful.”

**Author's Note:**

> we all know riku was talking about something else being beautiful hehe
> 
> talk to me on twitter! @crossroaddawn ❁


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